Brexit Sends Britain Sliding Down German Trade Rankings

Britain is slipping down the list of Germany's most important trade partners, official data showed Monday, after its 2016 vote to quit the European Union marked an end to growth in exchanges.

Between January and July, Britain was only Germany's seventh-most important partner with combined imports and exports of almost 68.5 billion euros ($75.5 billion, 60 billion pounds), federal statistics authority Destatis said.

Exports to Britain fell back 4.6 percent compared with a year earlier, to 47.1 billion, while imports shed 3.7 percent, to 21.3 billion.

In 2015, Britain was fifth in the ranking.

Ahead of the island nation were China, the Netherlands, the US, France, Italy and Poland, while Britain outstripped Austria, Switzerland and the Czech Republic among the top 10.

"Before the referendum, German exports to Britain rose continually from 2010 to 2015," the statisticians noted.

"Since the referendum in 2016, exports have steadily sunk."

The picture is different in imports, with Germany buying slightly more from Britain since the Brexit referendum.

But the gap between the two figures remains wide.

In the year to July, Britain bought 25.8 billion euros more of German goods than it sold in the opposite direction.

Auto industry woes made a strong contribution to weaker business between Germany and Britain, with cars and parts accounting for just below 25 percent of trade volume.

German auto exports to Britain fell 9.7 percent in January to July, while imports fell 9.1 percent.